Charlie Brown + Halloween Roundup

You all wondered why I didn't post about Charlie Brown, didn't you. Because I was saving him for Halloween day, of course! Oh, Charlie, how I love you and your great pumpkin. And so, I present to you, for your halloween pleasure: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Ghosts in the House, by Kazuno Kohara

...and put them all in the washing machine

TITLE: Ghosts in the House!
AUTHOR + ILLUSTRATOR: Kazuno Kohara
PUBLISHED BY: Roaring Brook Press, 2008
ISBN: 978-1596434271

A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2008, Ghosts in the House is truly one of the most delightful Halloween picture books in print. This plucky your girl moves into a house on the edge of town. "It was a splendid place but there was one problem. The house was...haunted!" Not giving in to her fears, she knows exactly what to do, and quickly settles down to cleaning and doing the laundry (though the ghosts manage to interfere at times).

The real joy of the book is the illustrations. Kohara's three color linocuts are completely charming. As you can see in these images, and in the image I used above for the spook week banner, she makes her ghosts eerily (but cheerfully) translucent.

Halloween is a great time for kids in so many ways. As Christians, we can remind our children of it's history and honor the saints and holy souls who have come before us. On the more playful side: it gives us all an excuse to dress up. And it is one of the last few events that brings together an entire community.

It also provides an opportunity to address the subject of fear. There are only two good responses to fear: buck up and get to work, and say a little prayer. Books like Ghosts in the House! and The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything teach us that first lesson with wit and charm, and really silly images.

It up to you parents to instill the second response.

At the end of town lives a clever girl

(Be sure to check out all my favorite Halloween titles in the Little Lamb Books Bookshop, and remember 10% of all proceeds go to literacy charities.)

Six Creepy Sheep by Judith Enderle and Stephanie Gordon

TITLE: Six Creepy Sheep
AUTHOR: Judith Ross Enderle and Stephanie Jacob Gordon
ILLUSTRATOR: John O'Brien
PUBLISHED BY: Boyd's Mill Press
ISBN: 978-1563972423

Six Creepy Sheep is a silly, imaginative Halloween counting book. It incorporates rhyming, reverse counting, and repetitive phrases to make a silly and delightful read-aloud Halloween treat. But take care: it can be a tongue twister: "Then, on little sheep feet, six creepy sheep went a-haunting."

The six sheep of the title decide they want to go trick-or-treating, so they don white sheets, and carry pumpkin baskets, and go "a-haunting." The trouble is, they keep getting scared by other trick-or-treaters (turkeys dressed as fairies, ducks as goblins, and, my favorite, donkeys dressed as hobos), and one by one the sheep run away.

John O'Brien's clever illustrations are a combo of watercolor and pen and ink. He has illustrated the other "Six Sheep" books as well: Six Sandy Sheep,Six Snowy Sheep,and Six Sleepy Sheep.

(Be sure to check out all my favorite Halloween titles in the Little Lamb Books Bookshop, and remember 10% of all proceeds go to literacy charities.)

I Spy Spooky Night, by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick

TITLE: I Spy Spooky Night
AUTHOR: Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick
PUBLISHED BY: Cartwheel
ISBN: 978-0590481373

The board book recommendation was for the babies. This is for everyone else. Goodness, how we used to fight over the I Spy books as kids. Technically, they were my little sister's--we were "too old" for them. But basically, we would all spend hours the day after Christmas pouring over the pages trying to find the different objects. The Halloween edition, I Spy Spooky Night was a personal favorite.

You know the gimmick, right? Wick and Marzollo have crafted huge tableauxs out of found objects--a fence made of paper clips, etc. The photographed scenes are accompanied by a rhyming "I Spy" chant: "

I spy a boken bone and --Boo!
a padlock and 1892"

You're job is to find all the items in the rhyme--but you'll likely find many other exciting and strange objects too.

While waiting for a train recently, I popped into a bookstore and picked up I Spy Spooky Night. The puzzels were much easier than they were when I was a kid, but I found them just as enchanting. These books are delightful any season!

(Be sure to check out all my favorite Halloween titles in the Little Lamb Books Bookshop, and remember 10% of all proceeds go to literacy charities.)

This is Not a Pumpkin, by Bob Staake

TITLE: This Is NOT a Pumpkin
AUTHOR + ILLUSTRATOR: Bob Staake
PUBLISHED BY: Simon + Schuster
ISBN: 978-1416933533

It's round like a pumpkin.
It's orange like a pumpkin.
But it's not a pumpkin.
(Then, what is it?!)

This imaginative board book, with crisp illustrations by Bob Staake, is sure to please any toddler. It's a great way to introduce kids to one of the best traditions of Halloween: the Jack-o-Lantern!

And, like peek-a-boo, if you read it with the right flair, it'll get a laugh every time.

(Be sure to check out all my favorite Halloween titles in the Little Lamb Books Bookshop, and remember 10% of all proceeds go to literacy charities.)

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, by Linda Williams

TITLE: The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
AUTHOR: Linda Williams
ILLUSTRATOR: Megan Lloyd
PUBLISHED BY: HarperCollins
ISBN: 978-0064431835

The title The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything basically says it all. This sing-song picture book follows a plucky old lady who isn't scared by clopping boots or clapping gloves, or dancing pumpkins. She just keeps on barrelling through the forest with her basket (looking a little more harried every page). When she finally arrives home, the assembly of frightening objects make such a racket outside her door, that she decides once and for all to deal with them. So she makes a scarecrow.

This is a personal favorite Halloween book. It is silly, certainly, but it also shows how to overcome fear: through good sense, a little courage, a little humor, and some ingenuity. If the little old woman ever looked back, she might be terrified, and run like a lunatic through the woods back to her house. But instead she boldly carries on, and, when she is safe, finds the daring to face the things that were scaring her.

Besides, it's just so much fun to read aloud!

(Be sure to check out all my favorite Halloween titles in the Little Lamb Books Bookshop, and remember 10% of all proceeds go to literacy charities.)

Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are

Directed by: Spike Jonze
Starring: Max Records, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Harra, Catherine Keener, Chris Cooper and Forrest Whittaker.
Written by: Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers
In Wide Release.

Let me say, first and foremost, this is really not a kids movie. Really. All the reviewers take pains to tell you that, but parents don't seem to listen, because the theatre was filled with crying kids, terrified, and unable to understand. Go see it, by all means, but don't bring your kids.

Where the Wild Things Are is a movie about childhood. Specifically, it is about growing up in a broken home.

Max is a lonely imaginative child. His teenage sister abandons him for her friends. His father is non-existent. And his mother is over-worked, tired, and, on the night Max carries out his mischief, entertaining a much younger boyfriend at the house. Max throws hit fit, bites his mother, and runs out the door, through the streets, and escapes to where the wild things are. (This is one marked difference in the film from the book. In the book, Max is disciplined, sent to his room, and his room becomes the wide world. In the film he runs away. I'm not sure I like this change, though perhaps it is minor.)

The wild things are more barbaric than wild. Carol (Gandolfini) is busy destroying their newly finished houses. The others are constantly bickering: Judith (O'Harra) thinks everyone thinks they are better than her; Alexander (Paul Dano) wants to be accepted; and "The Bull" stands in the background silent and lonely. They each represent some of the hard emotions of childhood: uncertainty, anger, loneliness, neediness, trust.

There is an ominous feeling in this wild place (majestic as the scenery is). Next to the crown and scepter they give to Max is a skeleton--and there are grave references to near-cannibalism. This is largely an allegorical device--Max could easily be consumed by these emotions. And children from broken homes often are consumed by despair, anger, and loneliness. Max's innocence and friendliness keep him a step ahead of danger--for some reason he truly loves these wild things (much the same way we adults truly love our children now matter how mischievous they are).

Whether it was Spike Jonze's intention to show the hurt and burden a child bears when growing up in a broken home, I do not know. He does a wonderful job of it, though. Where the Wild Things Are is really a film for the generation (of which I am at the tale end) that grew up reading this book. It was a generation that, for the first time, found divorce commonplace. And those in this generation that do have children are likely to be divorced or single as well. In that way, this film is incredibly successful: it says:Stop! think about the repercussions of your actions and your choices; think about the children.

But the movie offers no satisfactory answer (though, really, is there one?). Max comes home, and gratefully eats his dinner, but we don't know that he has learned anything, or changed in anyway. The one sublime moment of the film is there at the dinner table--his mother has fallen asleep, waiting for Max to eat his food. Max looks at her with so much love that he looks older and wiser than her. It is a beautiful moment--but it is unsupported by the narrative. There is nothing but that one scene to make me think that Max has learned that mischief is bad, and that he doesn't need to be lonely, because he is loved.

(A side note: Jonze used puppets, rather than CGI, for the Wild Things. This choice was spot on. Max interacted with real beings, wild and strange though they were, which made it so much easier to suspend disbelief. It has made them more terrifying--terrifying because they were real.)

Final verdict: I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars, and I do want to see it again. I think it is worth the time to see, but I don't think it is an emotional tour de-force--but it is definitely worth your time.

Song of the Swallows: by Leo Politi

Juan often stopped and looked up with sadness at the empty nests.
TITLE: Song of the Swallows
AUTHOR + ILLUSTRATOR: Leo Politi
PUBLISHED BY: Getty Publications
ISBN: 978-0892369898

Today is the feast of San Juan Capistrano, who is best known, in the states, for his namesake mission in California. Leo Politi, the Italian-American author-illustrator from Southern California crafted the beautiful picture book, Song of the Swallows, in 1946.

It tells the story of Juan, a little boy who lives near the California Mission, San Juan Capistrano. He is friends with the gardener and caretaker, Julian. Juan is captivated both by the mission gardens, and by the famous swallows of Capistrano. When the swallows fly away in the fall, Juan decides to grow a garden of his own, hoping that two swallows will nest at his own house.

The Mission holds (and still does...) a huge festival on the Feast of St. Joseph, March 19th. This is the day the swallows return to Capistrano--and children gather together in their best clothes, play games, and perform plays about the Mission and their history. They sing the swallows song, and then, late in the afternoon, the flock of swallow’s returns to Capistrano, and everyone joyfully welcomes them. In all the excitement, Juan has forgotten all about his own garden at home. He rushes home, and sees two swallows circling his porch.

This books is marvelous on so many levels. First, of course, it is a lovely story, pious but not moralistic, and it perfectly captures the spirit of childhood wonder and longing. The friendship between Julian and Juan is grandfatherly, and kind. And Politi's folk-like illustrations are engaging. It's no wonder, in my mind, that Politi won the Caldecott Medal for this.

Reading Notes: This picture book is text heavy, so it would be a good book for first readers, before they get to the chapter book stage. It would also be lovely read aloud.

"I shall pray for their return," said Juan

Interesting Kid-Lit Links

NB: Ah! For the second day in a row I forgot to bring in my reviews. Silly me. Check back tomorrow for a review of one of my very favorite Caldecott Winners.

+ This fascinating New Yorker article profiles Alloy Entertainment--who have created everything from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to Gossip Girl. It reaffirmed my current desire not to enter the publishing world (or write...they write books by committee!). It also made me wish for the days when The Baby-Sitters Club was the worst a girl could read. (The link is just to an abstract, I'm afraid. If you are a subscriber, then sign-in and you can read it.)

+ The ALSC is calling for submissions for the yearly children's book awards, including The Wilder Medal, which honors lifetime contributions by artists and illustrators. Also open for consideration is the Batchelder Award, which honors foreign language books subsequently published in English (their past winners are always interesting reads). Submission guidelines on the ALSC Blog

+ We ♥ Books is the blog of a children's book store in Melbourne Australia. They have a wonderful little series of reviews called When We Were Little, and this week's entry is about the marvelous Judith Kerr books The Tiger Who Came to Tea(pictured above and below). Read the review here.

+ You know Jan Brett, of course. You ought to.Earlier this month, The New York Times did a profile of her idyllic home in the Berkshires. I'm pretty sure I could write great books in a place as lovely as that too. (I love that she and her husband work side by side.)

+ Children's Book museums are suddenly in vogue. There's the Eric Carle's Museum of Picture Book Art, and, now I discover there is Seven Stories in England. I guess a trip is in order. (Though I can't say I am particularly keen on visiting Newcastle on Tyne)

+ Christine Rosen reviews the new Winnie the Pooh sequel. She says: "the introduction of Lottie gives the book a feeling of forced whimsy. It's a bit like finding Scarlett O'Hara tending the cannons in the middle of a Civil War re-enactment. You sense the enthusiasm and good intentions, and can even appreciate the elaborate effort that went into the display, but in the end the anomalous female figure becomes an ever-present reminder that this is a superfluous imitation." (Oh dear.)

+ Libraries and booksellers are still waiting on the effects of the CPSIA on their stock. The CPSC has yet to issue the guidlines for books, so we are all in an enforced limbo. Read more here, here, and here.

Pop-ups!

I'll be honest. I never was much of a fan of pop-ups as a kid. They always broke, and then they were boring, so I stopped being enchanted by them.

Then, last christmas, Spoon's daughter, G, showed me her copy of The Chronicles of Narnia Pop-upand I was completely captivated.

Illustrators (and engineers, really) Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart have completely transformed the pop-up book. They do, more often than not, adaptations of other longer books (like Alice in Wonderland, above, or Peter Pan, below). But they use the real text, and create mini books inside the main pages. In an interview on Babble.com, Robert describes the picture books as "magic without electricity." I don't think there's a better way of describing their imaginative, complicated, entracing work. They always delight--and, in my expereince, they're built to last, too. I think these are a delightful introduction to great stories--sure to inspire and captivate for years to come.

See some of the magic in the following video:

Inside the Pop-Up Studio from paul b on Vimeo.

Here are my favorites of their work:

(Most of the product pages on Amazon have videos too.)

Bembo's Zoo

TITLE: Bembo's Zoo: An Animal ABC Book
AUTHOR + ILLUSTRATOR: Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich
PUBLISHED BY: Henry Holt & Co.
ISBN: 978-0805063820

There's not much to say about this imaginative and witty abacadarian that can't be learned by going to the Bembo's Zoo website, and clicking through to see all the different animals. Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich (a better name I've never seen) has created a ABC-Zoo book using only the letters from animal's names for the illustrations. Hard to imagine, I know--though the Peacock above and the Turtle below are good examples. Just go to the website, and see for yourself. So fun!

(HT: Spoon)

Where The Wild Things Are (+ Movie Review Roundup)

TITLE: Where the Wild Things Are
AUTHOR + ILLUSTRATOR: Maurice Sendak
PUBLISHED BY: HarperCollins
ISBN: 978-0060254926


What is there to say about Where the Wild Things Are? One of the most loved picture books of out time, it has shaped the imaginations and inspired the hearts of three generations of children. An instant classic, first published in 1963, it was (is) loved by children and adults alike.

All the same, it has never been one of my favorite Sendak books, for the simple reason that it was my brother's favorite. He "owned" it, then, and I didn't want to interfere. (I'd rather read A Hole Is To Dig anyway.)

Reading Where the Wild Things Are as an adult, it is not the illustrations (evocative, enticing, and strange though they are) but the language that stands out to me. The book contains a mere ten sentences; they are simple, without a word wasted. And yet the story (as we all recall it and as we read it) is full, vibrant, engaging, and real.

It is this simplicity of language that allows Spike Jonze and co. to create a full length film. The bare (but not empty) text allows him create a narrative, with reasons for Max's mischief and loneliness. So too the story takes on a character of its own in our own minds--hence the rich variations on the theme by many celebrated artists and illustrators.

None of these adaptions or enhancements are false, because the narrative allows for growth. There are no particulars in the text (the monsters are not even described), and there are very few particulars in the illustrations. (We never see Mother, for example. Is she playful? Is she tired?) Every reader adds his own voice and perspective.

Many describe the books as an allegory for the freeing power of the imagination--but this is an easy out, and an almost meaningless phrase. The "lesson" (for lack of a better word) of the narrative is that Wild Things need to rest, and little boys need to be (and ARE!) loved.

In the meantime, because of the simple narrative structure, we really do enter into Max's world, and take the "freeing journey of the imagination." Or, just as Max's "wall became the world all around," this book becomes our world for as long as we care to play and live in it.

I would point out (I think it was you, Anna who told me) that time does actually pass on Max's trip. The moon is a quarter full when he leaves, but it is full when he returns and finds his dinner on the table. And it was still hot.




Here are some reviews of the film--mixed to say the least. Some really really love it, others think it's dull:
+ "Alternately perfect and imperfect if always beautiful adaptation" says Manohla Dargis of the New York Times. "With “Where the Wild Things Are” he has made a work of art that stands up to its source and, in some instances, surpasses it."

+ A very different take from the Chronicle's Mick LaSalle: "We watch [Max] at a remove, not engaging with his pain, not rejoicing in his resourcefulness and not particularly worried about whether he'll get eaten. He's just a generic, borderline obnoxious human boy, surrounded by gigantic, big-headed creatures."

+ The New Yorker's David Denby says: "The best scenes are peerless in their creative freedom and warmth." But... "“Wild Things” runs into trouble. Sendak’s book was created for young children. The text is all of three hundred and thirty-eight words long; some of the drawn pages are rhapsodically wordless. But the movie has been designed for older children and adults."

+ While Peter Traver's gives it his highest rating, saying: "For all the money spent, the film's success is best measured by its simplicity and the purity of its innovation. Jonze has filmed a fantasy as if it were absolutely real, allowing us to see the world as Max sees it, full of beauty and terror."

Sendak Roundup

NB: Check back around 5 for a review of Where The Wild Things Are, and a round up of movie reviews as well!

Thursday Classics: Maurice Sendak's Nutshell Library

TITLE: Nutshell Library
AUTHOR + ILLUSTRATOR: Maurice Sendak
PUBLISHED BY: HarperCollins
ISBN: 978-0060255008

Perhaps I am not being creative enough for Maurice Sendak Week. I seem to be only talking about the classics. But the classics are just soooooooo good, I can't resist. Sendak's Nutshell Library contains four tiny glorious books. One is a cautionary tale, another an alphabet book, a third gives rhymes for all the days of the month, and the fourth is a counting book (The titles are: All Around, Chicken Soup with Rice, One Was Johnny, and Pierre).

Sendak's books were instant classics. A little silly, but still educative, they are perfectly suited to toddlers, in both content and size. This is one of the things I love about Sendak. As we saw yesterday, his illustrations in The Juniper Tree by Grimm have cramped and distorted proportions, perfectly suited to the scale and content of the tales. So too the Nutshell Library is perfectly suited in both scale and content to the toddler. The books fit perfectly in tiny hands. The rhythm of the prose is easily remembered:

In January
it's so nice
while slipping
on the sliding ice
to sip hot chicken soup
with rice.
Sipping once
sipping twice
sipping chicken soup
with rice.

There is a reason these books are still in print, and have been in print since they were originally published in 1962. They are perfect.

NB: You can buy the books individually or as a set, in the Little Lamb Bookshop. But trust me, just buy them all!)

From Pierre

The Juniper Tree and Other Tales From Grimm

TITLE: The Juniper Tree: And Other Tales from Grimm
AUTHOR: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Lore Segal and Randall Jarrell
ILLUSTRATOR: Maurice Sendak
PUBLISHED BY: Farrar-Straus & Giroux
ISBN: 978-0374339715

Sendak's illustrated version of 27 Grimm Tales came at the height of his career. By 1973, when the set was first published, Sendak had already created his "nutshell library" (see tomorrow's post), as well as the classics, In the Night Kitchen and Where the Wild Things Are. I don't know if he felt suddenly free to do work perfectly suited to his talents and imagination--but that is the feeling I get when I dive into this volume.

Grimm's tales are at time very gruesome--I would not recommend giving these stories to a child unless you are prepared for some very difficult questions and vivid imaginations. I would recommend reading some of them aloud--and discussing with your children the questions and themes present in the books. There is a reason fairy tales have endured--they communicate something fundamental about our world in perhaps the most perfect way of all literature. (See Tolkein's "On Fairy Stories")*

But Sendak's own strange imagination is suited perfectly to the illustration of Grimm's fairy tales. They are all black and white illustrations, one to a story. As you can see from "Bearskin" above and "Rapunzel" below, Sendak has created a cramped little space with somewhat distorted proportions. This reflects perfectly the somewhat distorted world of the imagination--and especially the world of fairy tales.

Of all of Sendak's work, these 30 illustrations are perhaps his best and most powerful.


*I want to be perfectly clear about "censoring" the fairy tales. These stories can be very dark. They at times involve the devil, incest, murder, and pure hatred. But they are also very very good. So read them, work them out in your own mind, and then begin retelling them to your children, as you see fit. But do read them. They're amazing.

What Do You Say (and Do), Dear?

You are a terrible pirate making a fine lady walk the plank, but when the lady turns to wave farewell to you, she drops her handkerchief.
What do you do, dear?

TITLE: What Do You Say, Dear?and What Do You Do, Dear?
AUTHOR: Sesyle Joslin
ILLUSTRATOR: Maurice Sendak
PUBLISHED BY: HarperCollins

Now, Maurice Sendak Week (in anticipation of the release of the Where the Wild Things Are film), is under way, with my two very favorite Maurice Sendak titles: What Do You Say, Dear? and What Do you Do, Dear?

Written by Sesyle Joslin, and first published in the early 60's, these two "manners" books are silly, delightful, enduring, and (yes) educative. On each page we are presented with an improbable and hilarious situation:

You are picking dandelions and columbines outside the castle. Suddenly a fierce dragon appears and blows red smoke at you, but just then a brave knight gallops up and cuts off the dragon's head.
What do you say, Dear?

Then the answer is shown on the next page; the princess (in a curtsy) says: "Thank you very much."

Somehow the juxtaposition of these crazy adventures, with their mundane and mannerly answers hits just the right note. I laughed every time I read these books as a kid, and still do I promise you.

Pick up the handkerchief and return it to the lady.

What do You Do, Dear?

What do you do, dear, when you computer breaks down on a holiday weekend, and you can't start the promised Maurice Sendak Week on monday, or even until tuesday evening?

You apologize profusely, and hope that everyone will stop by at 5 p.m. for two great Sendak reviews.

But, as long as I have your attention: What Do you Do Dear is the title of the best Maurice Sendak book ever. And you should all put it in your amazon shopping cart right now!

Fall Movies + Friday Round-up

Looks like this is a good year for film adaptations of great children's books.

Or not...

By the way, in honor of the October 16 release of Where the Wild Things Are, I am going to do a special Maurice Sendak week here on Little Lamb Books, starting next Monday, October 12! Buy all your favorite Maurice Sendak books at the Little Lamb's Bookshop

Here are the books I reviewed these past few weeks:

Thursday Classics: The Railway Children, by Edith Nesbit

TITLE: The Railway Children
AUTHOR: Edith Nesbit
PUBLISHED BY: Chronicle Books, 2005
ISBN: 1587172801

J.M. Barrie wrote my favorite children's book,but I think Edith Nesbit is my favorite children's author. Contemporaries, of the so-called "Golden Age of Children's Literature, Nesbit and Barrie have much in common in both style and subject matter. They share the same whimsical appreciation for the wisdom and innocence of children. The children that populate their worlds are on the whole good kids, fallen in some ways, innocent and joyful but also growing and learning to be good.

The Railway Children is perhaps Edith Nesbit's most popular book (at least in England). It has been made into five mini-series over the last 50 years. It speaks to something powerfully British (call it stiff upper lip, if you will). It has not been as popular or well loved in America--but it really is wonderful.

The "railway children" are Roberta (Bobbie, mother's favorite--if mother's were allowed to have favorites), Peter (who wants to be an engineer), and Phyllis (Phil, who always means well). These three siblings, while left to their own devices one summer in the country, discover and fall in love with the railway, They happily play around the tracks; they become friends with the porter, station master, and engineers; they wave at the 9:17 train every morning, and win the heart of "their old gentleman" who daily waves back.

When trouble comes (like the landslide that falls on the tracks), they are quick to act, generous with their resources, and always compassionate. But they get into scrapes too. Peter goes "mining" for coal in the huge coal pile at the station. And they bicker with each other when they ought to be good.

Lingering behind all this is an absent father. Though we don't find out till 3/4 of the way through the book, Father is gone because he has been arrested and unjustly accused of treason. Mother (perhaps too saintly to be believed...), grief stricken and suddenly poor, spends most of her time writing and selling her stories and poems so that she can provide for her three growing children. She trusts and encourages her children to do good, act well, amuse themselves, and each other.

The Railway Children is ultimately a story about growing up. While Bobbie, Phil and Peter are generally pretty good charming kids--they make friends easily, are generous and adventurous but not mischievous--they have to deal with the fact that they are now poor, their mother is heartbroken and their father is gone--and they don't know why. Perhaps they do get by on the strength of their smiles too often--but Nesbit's objective is subtler. She wants to show that with cheerfulness courage and generosity, children can deal with great sadness. She has a tremendous amount of faith in her young heroes--faith that they will rise to the occasion, and try to be good, even if they have lost their father. (To set your mind at ease: Father does come back in the end. This is a children's book: justice is restored!)

The Railway Children is a wonderful book for any child, but it would be especially good for a child who has suffered some sort of loss. Nesbit shows us how to love life in spite of sorrow--a lesson I know I still need to learn.

Reading notes: This is a chapter book that would be good read aloud to children as young as 4 or 5. A 3rd or 4th grade child could easily read this on their own. If you can, find a copy with the original illustrations by C. E. Brock--shown above--they are marvelous!